


You make a terrible shield, pretty boy

by Fangirlshrewt97



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, BAMF Reid, Canon-Typical Violence, Case fic (but not really), Gen, Human shield, Prompt - Human Shield, Whump, whumptober2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 03:44:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20901110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlshrewt97/pseuds/Fangirlshrewt97
Summary: When they go to interview a potential unsub, one profiler ends up becoming a human shield.Takes place sometime in season 9, no major spoilers.Whumptober 2019 prompt - Human Shield





	You make a terrible shield, pretty boy

**Author's Note:**

> Hi readers,
> 
> This fic is not beta-read so all grammer and spelling errors are my own.  
None of the characters belong to me, and all original character names were made up not meant to represent anyone.  
I hope you all like this fic, and if you do please let me know through kudos and/or comments!
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Fangirlshrewt97

Derek bit back a swear as the unsub pulled on Reid’s hair, making the young genius go on his tiptoes or risk getting his hair ripped straight out of his skull. Why was it always Reid?

This case had started off like any other, coming in to work, Hotch had called the team to gather in the conference room. A serial killer was active in Grandview Valley, California. Over the past two and a half months, five undergrad college men had turned up strangled, beat up, and wrapped in a plastic sheet in rarely used alleyways. Hotch had said the reason it took such a long time for the local law enforcement to call in the BAU was because the bodies were spread out over three towns in the area.

When they had gotten to the town, it had seemed like every other small town the team visited, the neighbors all knowing each others business, no one could imagine anyone in their quaint little town being capable of such atrocities, and little help from hostile local cops who thought they were invading their territory. With the town’s mine drying up fast and the drop in tourists to the lake, the town’s economy was hanging on by a thread, and the population was fast dwindling, breeding resentment and envy for the few who were able to stay afloat.

Normally Derek was able to put on the charm and just ignore the glares directed at his back, but every since Hotch had presented the case a pit had been growing in his stomach that had just gotten larger the longer they had stayed in town.

After three days, they finally managed to catch a break, despite it being at the cost of another victim turning up. Their unsub was accelerating, dropping victims every three days instead of his usual 8 days, which meant that they were closing in on him and he was panicking.

Much like the other victims, their newest one was a young white male with chestnut brown hair and a slim frame. The unsub had strangled him with rope, and the bruising indicated the victim couldn’t have been killed more than 12 hours before. The plastic sheet was the same as in the other cases but the victim wasn’t as neatly wrapped. If the unsub was not paying attention to his own rituals, then that meant he was devolving and they had to find him fast. With Garcia’s help they were able to narrow their suspects, and decided to split into groups of two to go interview them, hoping to catch them off guard.

Based on the victimology and modus operandi, the team profiled their unsub to be a 30-50 year old man, fit enough to take on adult males, even if they were all on the skinny side. Sociable enough to charm the victims into trusting him, but sociopathic enough to feel no remorse as he beat them. Their search had given them three possible suspects. Darren Holloway, 35-year-old shop teacher at the local high school, poor dating record, parents died young, he had moved to the town at the beginning of the previous school year and was still a mystery to the people. James Anton, 43-year-old estranged father of two, twice-divorced, kept to himself, owned a fishing store on the outskirts of town and lived in a secluded cabin near the woods. And Elijah Cohen, 48-year-old miner who had been fired a few months back for assaulting the chief miner and was currently doing whatever odd jobs came his way. 

Derek had stuck to Reid, the pit in his stomach now the size of a decent black hole, weighing him down as they parked in front of Holloway’s house. Hotch and JJ had gone to talk with Anton in his shop, and Rossi and Alex had gone to Cohen’s newest workplace, the pub downtown. Since it was already past seven, they figured that Holloway would be home, and their bet had paid off. The porch light was on, and they saw movement through a side window. Looking at one another, they nodded to each other before letting Derek took the lead.

They only had to wait a moment after ringing the doorbell for Holloway to open the door. The man was almost as bulky as Derek, slightly taller, with a short sleeve t-shirt that showed arms littered with splinter scars and calloused hands.

While the conversation had been going well, Derek had gotten a call from Hotch that he stepped out for a second to answer. But a second was all the time it took. In between Derek stepping out to the balcony and speaking with Hotch who told him that their other two suspects did not pan out and hearing a loud crash from behind him, Derek thought he had barely breathed.

When he turned around and raced to the room where their unsub and Reid had last been, gun raised, he saw the two of them scuffling on the floor, Holloway pinning Reid to the ground.

“Reid!” Derek shouted as he fired a shot. Unfortunately Holloway was quick and dodged the bullet before seizing Reid by his hair and pulling him in front of him, making him effectively a human shield.

“Now now agent, I suggest you put your weapon down, we wouldn’t want to hurt your friend anymore than he already is do we?” Holloway taunted. His words incited a spike of worry in Derek who gave a once over of Reid and swore in his head when he saw that his gun had been dislodged during the scuffle and the knife Holloway held to his throat had nicked his forearm.

Derek made to move forward but Holloway just took a step back, hand still gripped tightly in Reid’s hair, forcing the genius to move with him.

“That does not seem like a smart choice Agent Morgan. And you seem like a smart man.” Holloway’s face was twisted in an ugly smirk Derek really wanted to punch. Catching Reid’s eyes, Derek wasn’t surprised to see the kid wasn’t afraid, but his eyes had that look that showed he was playing out a thousand different scenarios in his head. Trusting Reid to come up with a way to get them both out of here in one piece, Derek lowered his gun.

“There’s a good agent. Now slide it over here.”

Growling, Derek put the gun softly on the wooden floor. Derek looked at Reid again, only to see him back again, a determined glint in his eyes. Blinking slowly, Reid signalled for his friend to do as he was told. Muscles tensing in case he needed to act quickly, Derek slid the gun across to where the two men stood.

Holloway relaxed for a fraction of a second, thinking he had the upper hand, but that fraction was all Reid needed to violently jerk his head back. He heard a satisfying crunch as Holloway released Reid to grip at his now bleeding nose.

Derek took advantage to tackle the man to the ground, pinning him on his stomach effortlessly and handcuffing him. Holloway kept squirming, but when the three heard sirens coming close, the fight seemed to drain out of him. Holloway kept shouting profanity at the both of them, but he was easy enough to tune out once they handed him over to the local police.

Derek walked Reid to the ambulance despite the younger man’s insistence that he was fine.

“Reid, for god’s sake, can you just let the paramedics tell me you are fine? I promise I will leave you been after.” Derek growled, adrenaline still pumping from the fight.

Reid looked ready to protest, but settled when he saw the glare from Derek.

The paramedics were quick to clear him, putting a small bandage over the cut and recommending a cream for the bruises from where Holloway had grabbed him too roughly.

The rest of the team arrived by the time the paramedics finished with Reid, and got to see Holloway being driven back to the Sheriff’s station. Sheriff Sterling thanked them for their help before following his officers back to the station.

“You ok Spence?” Alex asked as she stepped close to the team genius.

“I’m sick of playing human shield to unsubs, but otherwise I’m peachy.” Reid grumbled. Rossi failed to mask his snort as even Hotch’s mouth showed an upward tilt.

“I know right, what are they even thinking, using you as a shield? With how skinny you are, there is actually a lot of area still open to hit. You make a terrible shield, pretty boy.” Derek teased as he lay an arm around Reid’s shoulders. Reid scowled, making the team chuckle, but they were all relieved he had come out of it relatively unscathed. Despite their profession carrying some risks they all signed up for, somehow, Reid always bore the brunt of it, and the team always worried the next time would be the time he didn’t make it.

Luckily, today was a happy ending, all said and done.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to chat with me elsewhere, find me at fangirlshrewt97.tumblr.com!


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